Nobody loses a job over permits. They lose days — a week waiting on an approval nobody chased, a failed inspection because the right person was not on site, a final payment held because the sign-off never came back.
Why it goes wrong in small shops
Permits live in email, and email is where things go to be forgotten. The application is in sent items, the approval is three weeks down the inbox, and the inspection date exists only in a phone call somebody half remembers. There is no list. Nobody decided there would not be a list — it just never got made.
What to track per job
- Jurisdiction. Neighbouring towns run completely different processes, fees and timelines.
- Permit type and number. One job often carries several — electrical, mechanical, plumbing.
- Applied date and expected turnaround, so you know when chasing is fair.
- Status — applied, issued, inspection booked, passed, failed, closed.
- Inspection date and time window. The field that actually costs money.
- Who must be on site. Some inspections need the licence holder, not whoever is nearest.
- Expiry. Permits lapse. A lapsed permit on a stalled job means reapplying and paying twice.
The two expensive mistakes
Finding out the morning of
An inspection you learn about at 7am is an inspection you may not be ready for. The crew is committed elsewhere, the work is not quite at the stage it needs to be, and a failed inspection costs a re-inspection fee and usually a week. A day’s warning fixes almost all of it.
Starting work before issue
Tempting when the customer is pushing and the paperwork is slow. It risks a stop-work order, double fees, and in some jurisdictions your licence. It also voids the insurance position you are relying on if anything goes wrong.
Build the permit into the quote
Permit fees and the time to obtain them belong on the estimate as a visible line, not absorbed. Customers accept permit costs readily — they are a government fee, not your margin — and showing the timeline sets expectations before anyone is waiting.
Keep it on one screen
Toolbelt’s Permit Tracker holds every job’s permit status and inspection date in one list, and emails you the day before an inspection so it is never a 7am discovery. Three free estimates, no card.
See also scheduling for small crews and how to write an electrical estimate, where permit lines belong.